BEMIDJI – Next season’s WCHA women’s Final Face-Off playoff tournament will be held at the Sanford Center in Bemidji.

The tournament, which features the women’s WCHA playoff semifinals and final, is scheduled for March 7-8, 2014, and WCHA associate commissioner Sara Martin said that the league officials are excited to showcase the event at the Sanford Center.

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“I make the trip to Bemidji at least once a year and I have found out that the people in Bemidji couldn’t be nicer,” Martin said. “The building (Sanford Center) also is a great facility and, hopefully, we will be able to have the fans come and support the tournament.”

WCHA communities have the opportunity to host the women’s Final Face-Off tournament and the conference athletic directors, with input from the various university presidents, decide which bids to accept.

“Teams that were interested in hosting (the tournament) laid it on the table,” Martin said. “We had picked Bemidji (to host in 2014) a few years ago so this is not a new announcement, so to speak. Bemidji has been in the rotation since 2011 but we usually don’t do our promotions that far out.”

In a perfect world Bemidji State will be one of the four teams in the Final Face-Off and Martin believes that the Beavers have a shot at making the field.

“I am always a fan of the host school getting to the tournament,” she said. “I think that this year Bemidji State has as good a shot as anyone. It’s an Olympic year and some teams may be missing some (key) players.